In addition to roll call votes this week, the House also passed the National Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal Organizations Act (H.R. 4768), to require the president to develop a national strategy to combat the financial networks of transnational organized criminals; the Political Appointee Burrowing Prevention Act (H.R. 1132), to provide for a two-year prohibition on employment in a career civil service position for any former political appointee; and the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act (S. 188), to prohibit the use of federal funds for the costs of painting portraits of officers and employees of the federal government.

The Senate also passed the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (S. 97), to enable civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies by private and public institutions, to expand theoretical and practical knowledge of nuclear physics, chemistry, and materials science.

HOUSE VOTES

REVIEWING FINANCIAL REGULATIONS: The House has passed the Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act (H.R. 4607), sponsored by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. The bill would require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and several other federal financial regulators to review their regulations to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulations that the agency should eliminate. Loudermilk said the review requirement “is about good government and cleaning up unnecessary red tape that inevitably hurts the consumer” by increasing costs for the financial industry. An opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said the bill would mean regulators being forced to redirect resources away from the effort to strengthen protections against financial fraud and risks for consumers and the broader economy. The vote, on March 6, was 264 yeas to 143 nays.

NAYS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District

YEAS: Bruce Poliquin R-2nd District

Advertisement

REGULATING BRICK, CLAY MANUFACTURERS: The House has passed the Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act (H.R. 1917), sponsored by Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio. The bill would delay Environmental Protection Agency enforcement of a rule applying emission standards for hazardous air pollutants on makers of brick and structural clay until judicial review of the rule has completed. Johnson said the manufacturers previously spent millions of dollars installing systems to comply with a 2003 EPA rule that was later canceled by the courts, and forcing them to prematurely comply with the new rule could push them out of business. A bill opponent, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., said it “gives special treatment to a couple of industries by shifting the health and financial burdens of pollution on to the public.” The vote, on March 7, was 234 yeas to 180 nays.

PRESENT: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

COAL REFUSE POWER PLANTS: The House has passed the Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment Act (H.R. 1119), sponsored by Rep. Keith J. Rothfus, R-Pa. The bill would change emissions limits for electric power plants fueled by coal refuse by having the Environmental Protection Agency allow a plant operator to select a standard for either hydrogen chloride or sulfur dioxide emissions with which the plant must comply. Rothfus said the more flexible regulations, by making it easier to use waste coal left over from old coal mines in Pennsylvania in particular, would avert environmental harm from piles of waste coal that should be used to generate affordable electricity for the region. A bill opponent, Rep. Michael F. Doyle, D-Pa., said it sought to allow the coal refuse power plants to avoid making cost-effective investments in emissions reductions that would improve regional air quality. The vote, on March 8, was 215 yeas to 189 nays.

NAYS: Pingree, Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

GEORGIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Tilman Eugene “Tripp” Self III to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the middle district of Georgia. Self, a former Army officer, had served as a Georgia superior and appeals court judge and worked as a private practice lawyer. A supporter, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said Self “does everything in his capacity as an individual and as one on the bench to see to it that our country is a better country and our state is a better state – the state I represent, Georgia.” The vote, on March 5, was 85 yeas to 11 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine

LOUISIANA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Terry A. Doughty to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the western district of Louisiana. Doughty, who had served as a judge in the Louisiana state courts for nine years, was previously a private practice lawyer for 24 years. The vote, on March 6, was unanimous with 98 yeas.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.